Sad news as the double-Oscar winning Art Director and Production Designer Norman Reynolds has passed away. A key member of the production team behind not only Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back but also Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reynolds was part of a crew that made the concept art of the Lucasfilm team led by Ralph McQuarrie a reality, and the Star Wars galaxy is poorer for his loss.
Lucasfilm is deeply saddened by the loss of production designer and art director Norman Reynolds. “Frank and I were shattered at the news of Norman’s passing this weekend,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Norman was an exceptional person to work with. His contributions to the first entries of the Star Wars saga and Indiana Jones series helped set the standard for the look of these beloved stories that has inspired generations of film designers. Our thoughts are with his family.”
A native of London, England, Reynolds was an art director on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He worked closely with John Barry, the film’s overall production designer, to help establish the core design philosophy behind Star Wars architecture and construction. They joined art director Leslie Dilley and set decorator Roger Christian as winners of the Academy Award for Art Direction in 1978. For Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Reynolds was elevated into the production designer role as Barry pursued directing (sadly, he would pass away while working as a consultant on Empire).
Reynolds was a congenial department head, and collaborated well with his fellow artists and designers at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm. Part of his brilliance was to translate the conceptual designs of artists like Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston into fully-constructed sets on a soundstage or a remote location. Reynolds made the fantastic designs of a galaxy far, far away practical and accessible. The legacy of this work spreads from movies and series to video games, immersive entertainment, and theme park experiences. In every detail of Star Wars spatial design is the foundational work accomplished by Reynolds and his colleagues.
Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
